Submissions

Submission Preparation Checklist

Before you submit, please check that your manuscript meets every item below. Submissions that miss any of them will be returned to you before peer review, which only delays your work.

Scope and Originality

• The manuscript fits the journal's Aims and Scope and is one of our article types: Original Research Article, Review Article, Case Report or Short Communication.
• It has not been published before and is not under consideration by another journal. Any related preprint or conference abstract is disclosed in the cover letter.
• The text is original and all sources are properly cited, in line with the Plagiarism Policy. We screen every manuscript with iThenticate.

Preparing for Double-Blind Review

• Author names, affiliations and contact details are in a separate title page file, not in the main manuscript.
• Self-citations are written in the third person, and file properties do not reveal the authors' identities.
• An ORCID iD is given for the corresponding author, and for co-authors where possible.

Manuscript Content

• The manuscript follows the Author Guidelines: title, abstract, keywords, main text and references in the standard structure.
• The appropriate reporting guideline has been followed (CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA or CARE, for example), with the completed checklist uploaded where relevant.
• All tables and figures are numbered, labelled and cited in the text.
• All references have been checked for accuracy and completeness, with DOIs wherever they exist.

Required Statements

• A Conflict of Interest (Competing Interests) statement, including "none" where that applies
• A Funding statement disclosing every source of support
• A Data Availability Statement
• An AI Use Declaration naming any generative AI tool used and for what
• An Ethical Approval and Informed Consent statement naming the approving committee and reference number, for any research involving people or animals
• Written consent for publication from the patient, for case reports. Please do not upload the signed form itself.
• A trial registration number, for clinical trials

Confidentiality and Permissions

• No names, initials, hospital numbers, exact dates, locations or images that could identify a participant appear unless that person has given written consent.
• Permission has been obtained to reuse any figures, tables, photos, datasets or other material that the authors did not create.
• Every listed author meets the ICMJE authorship criteria and has approved the submitted version.

Publication Costs

• There is no Article Processing Charge and no other fee: publishing is free for authors (see the Article Processing Charges page).